Exeter might be affluent and hungry for locally produced, sustainable food, but in common with other towns and cities across the UK, independent retailers, producers and food entrepreneurs face an uphill challenge, reports Charlie Taverner more...

Of 5,500 badgers to be shot during the pilot culls, only 240 will be independently monitored for humaneness, it has emerged. And just 4 Natural England officials will oversee the killing in Gloucestershire and Somerset more...

Following in the wake of shale gas and coal-bed methane (CBM) extraction is the spectre of underground coal gasification (UCG). But if we adopt these wholesale we could close off any hope of stepping back from the climate change brink, says campaign group Frack Off more...

The campaigner behind the groundbreaking Pig Business documentary is now taking her message global, encouraging people to take action against industrial farming methods which degrade the environment and subject animals to a life of miserymore...

As a Joseph Rowntree Foundation study concludes that migrant workers in the food sector continue to suffer appalling exploitation, perhaps a UK version of the pioneering 'Food Justice' certification scheme should be considered, says Andrew Wasley more...

Tackling the unfair buying practices of the big supermarkets is a vital step forward for securing the rights of over a million workers. From fruit to textiles to cut flowers, abuses in the supply chain are rife. Now we must guard against lobbying from the retail giants, says Murray Worthy more...

Replacing the pollination of food crops that the UK's bees perform for free would cost £1.8bn. With hard data now linking pesticides to bees' rapid decline, there is no excuse for inaction, says Damian Carringtonmore...

Politicians, 'dynamic' business and the media (even if it denies it) all want high speed rail. But they are missing the point , says B W Edginton. After all, who wants to visit London, Birmingham, Manchester or Leeds? more...

Octavia Hill was a tireless advocate for saving land and green spaces in and around Victorian London. She was also a founder of the National Trust, which is launching an award to recognise modern day 'unsung environmental heroes' more...

Two founding members of the Ecologist pay tribute to a talented and thoughtful man whose wildly seditious cartoons in the magazine called into question accepted dogma on everything from economic growth to sciencemore...